For centuries a major administrative, shipping, and trading town, Shanghai grew in importance in the 19th century due to European recognition of its favorable port location and economic potential. The city was one of five forced open to foreign trade following the British victory over China in the First Opium War while the subsequent 1842 Treaty of Nanking and 1844 Treaty of Whampoa allowed the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement and the French Concession. The city then flourished as a center of commerce between east and west, and became the undisputed financial hub of the Asia Pacific in the 1930s. However, with the Communist Party takeover of the mainland in 1949, trade was reoriented to focus on socialist countries, and the city's global influence declined. In the 1990s, the economic reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping resulted in an intense re-development of the city, aiding the return of finance and foreign investment to the city.

Shanghai (video game)

Gameplay

Shanghai is a computerized version of mahjong solitaire. After winning a game, the tiles reveal the three-dimensional blinking eye of a dragon behind the game screen. The Macintosh and Sega Master System version shows an animated dragon spitting fire.

Development

Shanghai was programmed by Brodie Lockard.

Reception

Shanghai was successful, selling more than 500,000 copies by 1991.Computer Gaming World in December 1986 published varying opinions. One stated, "I couldn't believe [Activision] had wasted their resources on putting it out", while another called it "probably the best game of the year".Compute! reviewed the game favorably, reporting that "our Shanghai mania is of such proportions that I am beginning to fear for our health". In 1988, Dragon gave the game 5 out of 5 stars, and also gave the Atari Lynx version 5 stars later in 1992.IGN gave the Atari Lynx game a 10/10 review score.

Plot

In December 1941, just before the entry of the United States into World War II, an American agent from the Naval Intelligence Office (Cusack) arrives in Shanghai to find his friend Conner (Jeffrey Dean Morgan) was recently murdered. Determined to find out who killed Conner and why, he begins working at the Herald using the alias Paul Soames, a Nazi-sympathizer cover he used while stationed in Berlin. He meets Anthony Lan-Ting (Chow Yun-Fat) an influential crime lord and Captain Tanaka (Ken Watanabe) at the German embassy in Shanghai, during an invitation only event. He later befriends Anthony when he saves him during an attack on Japanese officers by the Chinese Resistance at a night club.

Paul realizes that it was Anthony's wife, Anna (Gong Li) who actually organized the attack and is the leader of the resistance. He then decides to help her pass on messages. After finally meeting up with Conner's contact in the Japanese Consulate, Paul finds out that Conner had an affair with a Japanese girl named Sumiko (Rinko Kikuchi) and after searching her place, Paul uncovers numerous photos, which Conner took, in a darkroom nearby. Some of the photos include Captain Tanaka, other Japanese officers and the aircraft carrier Kaga.